Song of the Day: Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, “Let’s Dance”

Song of the Day 1 Minute

Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman was born on this day in 1909. "Let’s Dance" was adapted from Carl Maria von Weber’s Invitation To The Dance by Gregory Stone and Joseph Bonime, with lyrics by Fanny May Baldridge. It became a jazz standard and was Goodman’s opening theme (as an instrumental) for over 50 years.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

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11 thoughts on “Song of the Day: Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, “Let’s Dance””

  1. Pingback: The First Week That Was Of Summer – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  3. My dad loved the big bands..it was his time to boogie..not that he did. My Uncle Ambrose, apparently, could really swing with his wife, Auntie Irene. He could swing her over his back, up in the air tge who thing.

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    1. One of my friends’ parents were tremendous dancers. They did the Charleston at my wedding, and really put on a show. None of us were especially good dancers, though brother Pat and his wife learned to dance for their wedding…

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  4. My mother loved Benny Goodman. My father bought her a bound set of his songs – all on 45s – one year for her birthday. She would stack those up and have them playing for a good long time.

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    1. He was a kid from the old Jewish neighborhood around Maxwell Street in Chicago and became one of the biggest names in Big Band history. He was also a pioneer in civil rights: both his quartet and sextet were racially mixed at a time when that was unheard of. And what a player he was….

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    1. Those were the days when everyone danced. He and Glenn Miller were the two biggest bands in those days. So was Duke Ellington, though sadly he didn’t get the recognition.

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